Rack



M y 9,1944- R. PQLQREY Em 2,3 8,

RACK

Filed April 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS E ANK L. LOREY ATTQRNEYS Y RAYMOND P. LOREY' May 9, 1944. P. LOREY EI'AL 2,348,398

' .RACK

Filed April 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 2.9 2.9 0 RAYMOND P. LoREY, +0 4 FRANK L. LoREY & v ATTORNEYS Patented May 9, 1944 RACK Raymond P.

Lorey and Frank L. Lorey,

Jasper, Ind.

Application April 2, 1942, Serial No. 437,460

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved device for storing relatively large articles of furniture or merchandise, such as, for instance, mattresses and springs.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified rack which may be used selectively for storing or displaying large articles, such as mattresses and similarly shaped bodies, in a relativelylimited space without preventing a simple and fast removal of the respective article from said rack.

It is another object to provide a rack for the storage or display of a plurality of relatively large and flat articles in a limited space, while allowing removal of any of said articles from said rack without disturbing the position of the other articles.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of a rack including an upper and a lower guide, in which is movable an inclined supporting device for supporting an article to be stored or displayed.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a rack of the type set forth in the preceding paragraphs, which is provided with means for preventing flexible articles stored on the rack from accidentally collapsing.

A still further'object of the invention consists in the provision of a rack with an upper and a lower guide, in which is movably mounted an inclined device for supporting an article to be stored or displayed, which device is normally arranged so that the upper edge of its front side is perpendicular to said guides'but which is shiftable selectively so that the said upper edge is parallel to said guides.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a rack according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a front view of the supporting member illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a rack according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 2, but showing the supporting member for the rack of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure 5. v

Figure 7 is a section along the line I--'| of Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows means which may selectively be used in connection with the embodiment of Figure 1 or the embodiment of Figure 2, in cases where the article to be stored is collapsible;

General arrangement The rack according to the present invention comprises upper and lower guiding means'and a supporting member guided in said guiding means and automatically occupying an inclined position.

The article to be stored or displayed rests on said supporting member, which latter may be moved to one or the other side, while roller means, connected to said supporting member, are guided in said guiding means. I

In case the article to be stored or displayed is flexible, a holding member may be attached to the supporting member for preventing the article to be stored or displayed from collapsing.

According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the supporting member'for'supporting the article to be stored or displayed may be shifted about its longitudinal axis without changing its inclined position so that the broad side of said article is plainly visible to a spectator, thereby materially facilitating the display of the said article. I 1

Structural arrangement Referring now to the drawings in detail, the rack shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 comprises a lower guide [0 in the form of a rail, and two upper guides H and I2, shaped similar to the rail I0. Guided in the rails I0, II and I2 are rollers I3, I4 and I5 respectively, which are connected to a frame or supporting member, generally designated I6.

The supporting member I6 comprises an upper beam I'I carrying the rollers I4 and I5 and connected by means of frame members I8 with a lower beam or board 22 carrying the roller I3.

The articles to be stored or displayed are shown in Figure 1 as mattresses 23 and springs 24, although it is, of course, understood that other similarly shaped articles may take the place of article resting thereon a As will also be clear from Figure 1, a plurality of supporting members [6 may rest on the same guiding means or rails and may easily be moved relative to each other, so that they occupy a minimum space. Whenever one of the articles 23, 24 is to be removed'from the rack, it can easily be slid off the supporting board 22 without disturbing the'position of the other articles, and may later be returned to the empty support, likewise without disturbing the position of the other articles.

If, on the other hand, it is, desired to closely inspect one of the articles 23, 24, the respective article or articles in front of the article to be inspected may be moved sidewardly so that the broad side of the article to be inspected becomes clearly visible.

While in the structure of Figures 1 to 3 the lower guiding means consists of a single rail and the upper guiding means consists of a plurality of rails, it is, of course, understood that, if desired, the arrangement may be reversed or the lower as well as the upper guiding means may consist of one rail only, or of 'a plurality of rails.

Referring now to the embodiments of Figures 4, 5 and 6, the structure shown therein differs from that of Figure 1 primarily in that it allows the supporting member to shift about a vertical axis, thereby materially facilitating the display and closer inspection of the respective article. More specifically, the rack of Figures 4, 5 and 6 comprises an upper rail 25 for guiding the upper rollers '26 of a supporting member, generally designated 21, and a lower rail 28 for guiding the lower rollers 29 of the supporting member 21.

The upper rollers 26 are connected to a frame member 30, which is shiftable about a pivot 3| carried by a frame member 32, which latter is rigidly connected to the upper ledge 33 on the supporting member 21. The ledge 33 is connected with a ledge or board 34 by means of frame members 35,36, 31 and 38. Connected to the ledge or board 34 is a frame member 39 which is pivotally connected by means of a pivot 40 to the carriage 4| movable by means of the rollers 29 in the lower guide or rail 28. As will be noted fromFigure 6, the members 32 and 39 are so shaped that the frame members 35, 36, 31 and 38 of the supporting member 21 are inclined with regard to the horizontal'plane so that the supporting member 21 is 'always'inan inclined position, similar to that of the supporting member l5 of Figures 1 The frame member '39 has hinged thereto, 'by means of a hinge 56, aiat-ch 42 adapted to engage one of the notches 43, 44 or 45 provided in the carriage 4| and continuously urged by means of a spring '43 against the periphery 41 of the carriage 4|, or into one of the said notches 43, '44 or 45.

The lowerend of the spring 46 rests on the frame member 39, while the upper end engages an arm 43 connected'to the latch "42. The upper endlof the latch 42 is provided with a bore 43 through which is threaded, and to which is fastened, a wire or cord 50. The wire or cord 53 passes through a ring or loop 51 carried by a ledge 52 interconnecting the frame members 36 and 31, and is passed through further rings or loops 53 and '54 on the'frame members 31, and 35 respectively. The end of the wire50 is connected to a ring or knob "55 which, when pulled, will cause the latch 42 to leave the respective notch 43, 44 or 45, so that the frame member 39 and,

thereby, the supporting member 21, may be shifted about the pivots 3| and 40. This arrangement materially facilitates the display and close inspection of the article to be displayed, as will presently appear. It may be assumed that a plurality of support ing members 21 is arranged in the rails 25 and 28, and that all supporting members 21 are parallel to each other, as is the case with the first three and the last three supporting members shown in Figure 4. If it is now desired to display the article on the supporting member between the said first and last supporting members, it is merely necessary to laterally move the supporting members in front or in the rear of the article to be displayed and then to slightly move the supporting member carrying the article to be displayed, whereupon the latch 42 is moved out of the notch 44 and the supporting member 21 is rotated by about degrees, so that the broad side of the article to be displayed faces the spectator. When the supporting member 21 has thus been shifted, the spring 48 will automatically cause the latch 42 to enter the notch 45, thereby arresting the supporting member 21.

If, thereafter, it is desired to inspect the back of the article on the shifted supporting member 21, it is merely necessary to again pull the wire 50 to-unlatch the latch 42 from the notch 45 and then to rotate the supporting member 21 by degrees, so that the latch 42 enters the notch 43. In this way, the front as well as the back of the respective article may be displayed and closely inspected without removing "the article from the supporting member. The supporting member 21 may then, at any desired time, be shifted into parallelism with the other supporting members, and may be returned to its previous position.

If the article to be displayed is flexible, as is the case, for instance, with pads, an auxiliary device, shown in Figure 8, may be attached 'to't'he supporting member IE or 21. This auxiliary device merely comprises a clamp '51 with two grip members 58, 59 adapted to .grip the .upper end of a flexible article 63 and to hold it clamped therebetwe'e'n by means of a bolt GI. and screws 62. The clamp 51 is preferably suspended on the upper beam l1 of the supporting member [6, or the ledge 33 of the supporting member .21, for instance, by means of a hook 63 engaging a ring 64.

It will be understood that we desire to comprehend within our invention such modifications as come within the scope of the claims and the invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what We claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. In combination in a display rack, an inclined support for supporting the article to be displayed, a'member secured to the upper portion of said support and extending beyond the side edges thereof, roller means respectively connected to said member and the lower end of saidsupport and arranged symmetrically with regard to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of said supportand guiding rails respectively receivin .and guiding said roller means.

2. In combinationin a displayrack, an inclined support adapted to receive and support a relatively large and flat article, said support being of substantially the same length and width as the article supported, abeam extending across yond the side edges thereof, rollers respectively connected to the underside of said beam and the lower end of said support, and mean for receiving and guiding said rollers, the lower end of said support being provided with one roller only, while the upper end of said support is provided with a plurality of rollers, one on each end of said beam.

3. In combination in a display rack, an inclined support for receiving and supporting a long fiat article to be displayed, said support being of substantially the same length and width as the article supported, a beam extending across the top portion of said support and extending beyond the side edges thereof, roller means respectively connected to said beam and the lower end of said support, and guiding rails respectively receiving and guiding said roller means, the distance between said guiding means being less than the distance between the axes of rotation of said roller means.

4. In combination in a display rack, a supporting member adapted to receive and support a flexible relatively large and flat article for display, said support being of substantially the same length and width as the article supported, means extending beyond the side edges of said support adjacent the upper portion thereof, guiding members connected to said means and the lower end of said supporting member, guiding means for receiving and guiding said guiding members, said supporting member being inclined with regard to said guiding means, and means arranged adjacent the upper end of said supporting member for gripping a portion of said article to prevent the same from collapsing.

5. A display rack upon which a large flexible article is movably supported for movement relatively to other similar articles carried upon the display rack for individually displaying each of the articles which comprises, an overhead track means, a second track means disposed beneath said overhead track means and arranged parallel with respect to the same, supporting means extending upwardly and rearwardly from the bottom thereof having a flat supporting surface extending throughout the length of the article supported, and an upwardly inclined supporting platform extending forwardly and upwardly from the lower portion of said supporting means, whereby said supporting means and said platform co-operate to support a large relatively flat article, roller means attached to said supporting means adjacent the upper side edge thereof for cooperation with said overhead track means, and roller means attached to said supporting means adjacent the bottom edge thereof for co-operation with said second mentioned track means, whereby said supporting means is suspended between and guided by both of said track means for movement thereover.

6. A display rack upon which a large flexible article is movably supported for movement relatively to other similar articles carried upon the display rack for individually displaying each of the articles which comprises, supporting means having an upwardly and rearwardly extending fiat supporting surface and an upwardly inclined supporting platform extending forwardly and upwardly from the lower portion of said supporting means for supporting a relatively large fiat article, said supporting surface being of a width and length substantially the same as the article supported thereby, overhead track mean adjacent each side of said supporting means and disposed in parallel arrangement, roller means attached to the upper end of said supporting means and engaging said overhead track means whereby to support and guide the upper end of said support means, track means disposed beneath said supporting means arranged parallel with said overhead track means, and roller means attached to said supporting mean adjacent the bottom edge thereof for engaging said track means for guiding said supporting means thereby.

'7. In combination in a display rack, an article support inclined between the display floor and an overhead track for supporting the article displayed, said support extending throughout the length of the article displayed, a roller positioned beneath the article support at the center thereof relative to the vertical sides of the article support for engaging a display floor and supporting the article support, overhead track means adjacent each side of said article support and disposed in parallel arrangement, means secured to the upper portion of said article support and extending beyond the side edges thereof, a roller positioned on each side of the underside of said means, said rollers engaging said overhead track means and positioned a vertical distance from the first roller that is greater than the vertical distance between the track means and the display floor for rollingly supporting said article support in an inclined position.

RAYMOND P. LOREY. FRANK L. LOREY. 

